Silence
by Parachutingkitten
Summary: A Pixane one shot. Zane has been strangely distant from Pixal all day, and it's beginning to worry her. After a day of work trying to fix the Bounty, everyone decides to sleep - except the nindroids.


**Pixane one-shot taking place the evening immediately following the samurai X reveal. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

She approached his door cautiously. It had been a full afternoon of talking, answering questions, and being welcomed back into the team. But one thing was missing. Zane. All through the evening, he had been in his room, locked away from the world. Most everyone else was going to bed for the night, including Pixal herself, but she couldn't rest knowing something was wrong with Zane. Atop her head sat a messy bundle of silver hair. She wore a spaghetti strapped, pale purple nightgown that hung clumsily over her new body. She took in a deep breath, and exhaled, knocking three times on his door. She crossed her arms over her chest waiting patiently for him to answer.

The door cracked open, Zane's features peeking through the other side.

"Pixal!"

"I hope I don't intrude." She blushed.

"No, of course not. Come in." The door swung open, her body passing through the frame into familiar surroundings as the door closed again behind her.

"What have you been doing?"

"Oh, simply, tidying up. Scanning my systems for bugs… you know what I do."

"I suppose I do." She shrugged as Zane returned to a pile of laundry he folded and organized into neat piles on his bed. "I spoke with Nya. She's glad to see the armor in use again."

"I'm glad she supports you."

"Me too." She took a few steps towards him. "I also spoke with Jay. He's going to make sure my systems can't be hacked again."

Silence. It stressed her. She didn't like silence. Not from Zane. She continued moving towards him, hoping to claim his attention.

"Kai spoke with me. Said he enjoyed having someone else look out for the team. And I spoke with Cole, who said he was glad to have another android on the team and… well, they all seemed very happy for me and…" at this point she stood at his side. "And I guess my point is that… it seems the only person yet to speak with me is… you."

She glanced at his face, hung low, desperately avoiding her gaze; just as stressed as she was. "Haven't I?"

She placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "Zane, I know your systems too well. What's bothering you?"

"It's nothing." He turned his back to her.

"Zane, no more secrets."

The room was silent again. It made Pixal nervous. Silence meant that something was wrong; something wasn't working.

Zane sighed, his mind trying to find words less harsh, less painful, but it was the truth.

"You lied to me."

Pixal thought for a moment. She had only returned for a day now, how could she have offended him so quickly? "When did I-"

"I thought there was a glitch, I thought there was something wrong with me," he leaned his hands on the bed, hanging his head, and closing his eyes. "But there wasn't." He tilted his head to look at her. "You left me."

Hearing the pain in his voice scared her. It was worse than the silence. Much worse.

"Zane, I-"

"Eight months." Zane stood. "You were gone for eight months." His eyes fell to the floor. "I thought I had lost you… do you know what that did to me?" He looked back up at her. "It broke me."

Pixal slipped a hand into his. "Zane, I would never mean to hurt you, in any way."

Zane stared down at her hand linked in his. "Why would you do that to me?"

Pixal's eyes too landed on their hands. She knew the reason she had left him. She didn't want to say it. She didn't want to say it was his fault. But it was the truth. "Why wouldn't you build me a body?"

Zane's eyes floated up to hers. "You wanted a body?"

Pixal broke their grip, walking away from him. "Of course I did, Zane. Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't you?" She turned to face him again.

Zane's mind filled with precious memories of their time being totally and completely connected with one another. "Pixal, I loved having you in my systems." He moved towards her. "I loved speaking with you. I loved working with you on everything. I loved sharing everything with you. I loved going to sleep and waking up with you next to me." He gripped her hands in his. "I loved seeing you every day. I loved always knowing we were looking out for each other. I loved…" he looked at her, her bright green eyes piercing deep into his core. "I thought you enjoyed it as much as I did, but… I suppose I was incorrect."

Pixal thought back to her own experiences in his head. Zane saw as her eyes dimmed, falling to the floor. "It was silent." She recalled. "And it was dark. Every time you went to sleep. I had never felt more… helpless in all my life. I couldn't observe what was going on around you, I couldn't affect anything." She closed her eyes. "I hated it."

Zane's hand brushed away a tear she hadn't realized had fallen. Her eyes blinked open again.

"I guess the reason I left, the reason I didn't tell you, is that… it was something I could control." She looked down at her free hand, feeling her fingers as she tightened them into a fist. "It was a choice I could make. I suppose it made me feel better about myself."

Zane's hand had trailed back down to her's by now, gently releasing the tension from her fingers and interlacing them with his own. "I understand. Your emotions caught up with you, and you couldn't think straight. I know that feeling well." He smiled warmly, melting her worries away.

"It's strange, isn't it? How emotions can so heavily influence our actions?"

Zane smiled. He had been alive for far longer than she had. He loved seeing her explore what it meant to be an android; something he himself was far from figuring out. "It is… what keeps us somewhat... human."

"I can't imagine what humans must feel." she smiled. "I'm not sure I could manage that many feelings." They both giggled, their glowing gazes catching each other in the dim light of the room. "Zane?"

"Pixal?"

She thought for a moment. "There was another reason I wanted a body again."

"Why?"

"Well, there are some physical acts that only a body can perform or feel. There are ones that I missed very dearly. The feeling of a cool wind. Water against my skin. Threading my fingers through my hair. Assisting my father into his chair, spinning, jumping." Her fingers trailed up Zane's arms and curled around the back of his neck. "But there was one that… I hadn't done, that I wanted to try."

Zane's hands slipped around her waist. "What would that be?"

Pixal smiled, knowing he hadn't caught on yet. "Well, it's something you need a partner for, and I wanted to try it with you."

Zane's complexion turned puzzled. "What haven't we done together? I suppose we haven't gone ice skating, but that doesn't necessarily require a partner."

"Think a bit harder." She began tracing the outline of his chin with her fingertips.

"We've never danced together. I'm not much of a dancer, but-"

"It's not dancing."

He thought for a moment more. "What is it?"

Her thumb ran gently over the edge of his bottom lip. "I'll wait until you figure it out."

Her eyes simply stared deeply into his for a moment. A long moment. In silence. But this time, the silence didn't scare her.


End file.
